Vikings

The Vikings were Norse seafarers who raided and traded from their home region of Scandinavia from 793 to 1066, establishing fiefs for themselves in the British Isles, Ireland, France, Russia, and Italy, with Danelaw in England, Normandy in France, the Kievan Rus, and the Kingdom of Sicily in Italy being founded by Vikings and their descendants. The Vikings were feared for their prowess in combat and their indiscriminate cruelty, as the Vikings massacred villagers in towns that they sacked, even killing several monks when they sacked Lindisfarne in 793. The Vikings would eventually settle down in their own kingdoms after conquering some lands from their victims, with some Vikings such as the Varangian Guard offering their services to European nations as mercenaries. In 1066, the battle of Stamford Bridge marked the end of the last Viking invasion, as Harald Hardrada's death ended the last attack on England by the vikings. Afterwards, most of the vikings settled down in their conquests, and they would lose touch with their pagan roots by converting to Christianity.